Review: Cinder (The Lunar Chronicles, #1) by Marissa Meyer

Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth’s fate hinges on one girl.

Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world’s future.

Before I officially begin this review, I would like to say that THIS BOOK IS ABSOLUTELY AMAZING AND INCREDIBLE AND AWESOME AND YOU WOULD BE A FOOL NOT TO READ IT! Okay, now that I have that out of my system, let’s go onto a more informative, [slightly] less fangirly review. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone that enjoys reading young adult novels and is looking for something that has a really different concept. I don’t believe that you have to be a huge science fiction fan to enjoy this series. It simply has so much to offer.

This is a very different retelling to the wonderful fairy-tale, Cinderella. My love for fairy-tale retellings is growing exponentially (I am just about to re-watch Once Upon a Time from the beginning), and Cinder has managed to surpass my expectations. I simply love how different Cinder is to anything else that I have read. Through merging the well-known fairy-tale of Cinderella and a number of science fiction elements, Marissa Meyer has managed to create a world that is so different and distinctive from anything else in fiction. If you love fairy-tale retellings, but are looking for something with a new spin… LOOK. NO. FURTHER.

Cinder is a beautiful and interesting character, and I cannot wait to read more of her story. Marissa Meyer has created such a wonderful main character in Cinder. She isn’t your typical protagonist and doesn’t fall into any of the cliched categories that a lot of protagonists tend to fall into. I would even go as far as to say that Cinder has recently become one of my all time favourite characters in fiction. Cinder is intelligent (and is a fantastic mechanic, the best in fact) and brave, but whilst attempting to do the right thing and be selfless, she also wants to be selfish and leave the country. Despite being a cyborg, Cinder is still beautifully human. She has her strengths, but she also possesses faults.

I was worried that this was going to involve “insta-love” (it definitely could have headed in that direction); however, the romance between Cinder and Kai develops quite naturally. What could have ruined this story was a romance between two characters that could have been forced. Yet, Cinder possesses no such romance. Yes, Cinder does initially have a small crush on the Prince, but the relationship develops from one of admiration, friendship and deep mutual respect, to one of attraction. And I like the fact that this develops due to them sharing a lot in common (even though Kai is from royalty and Cinder is not). There are too many couples in young adult fiction that realistically wouldn’t be right for one another — so it is fantastic to see a relationship develop between two characters that could actually work.

I am left feeling absolutely heartbroken over two specific characters. I don’t want to give anyone spoilers, but trust me, two characters will break your heart. For those of you that have read the book, CAN WE PLEASE CREATE A SUPPORT GROUP TO HELP US THROUGH OUR PAIN?!

Marissa Meyer’s writing style is simple and easy to read, but really captures the emotion of each of the characters, and the world. I really, really like Marissa Meyer’s writing style. I wouldn’t say that she has the same sort of poetic style that Sarah J. Maas possesses, but her style is still very beautiful. I like that I am able to understand the emotions of the characters and understand how the futuristic world works. Meyer has done a wonderful job at creating this world (that still resembles our present world, but possesses numerous futuristic technology and practices), and through her words she describes its workings perfectly.

I am now officially obsessed with this series. I mean, can you tell? I love this series so much, and I immediately began reading the second book afterwards. I cannot wait to see how this series develops, how Cinder develops and what further characters we are introduced to.

That’s awesome to hear! I am glad that you are enjoying the series, I cannot wait to read Cress. I’ll be posting my review for Scarlet soon, I’m a bit behind in posting my reviews. Thanks for commenting 🙂

Thank-you, Lauren! And yes, the fact that this book possessed no “insta-love” just makes it better. I would definitely say that the book had the potential to go that way, but the author did a wonderful job at making the relationship develop quite naturally. I hope you enjoy it too! 🙂

This is a brilliant review! And I am so glad you’re enjoying this series so far. The Lunar Chronicles is one of my favourite series ever so I really hope you enjoy it when you start the rest of the books! I loved Cinder and Kai’s relationship, and it just gets better in the later books so you’ve got that to look forwards to. 😀

Thank-you, Beth! I cannot wait to read the rest of the books. I have read Scarlet, but I’m very excited to read Cress. I cannot wait to learn more about Cinder and Kai, and see their relationship develop. Definitely one of my favourite couples in fiction! 🙂

I think the series gets better and better so I think you’ll love Cress and Winter even more! I definitely did 😀
Oh same here, they’re my favourite couple from the series and one of my favourite YA couples in general!

About Madeline

My name is Madeline and I am a twenty-two year old book blogger and aspiring author from Australia. When I am not blogging, reading or writing, I am most likely studying for a university degree, reading comics or binge-watching a number of television series.